Making history sexy - Neil Oliver brings his brogue to Canberra

By Lynne Minion (with Genevieve Jacobs)

Broadcasting from windswept Highlands, remote trenches and castle parapets, Scottish archaeologist Neil Oliver has taken history to the mainstream and made it sexy with his long tousled locks and Gaelic charm.

This week Oliver has brought his particular style of demystifying ancient cultures, clan warfare and royal coups to the 666 ABC Canberra studios, where he spoke to Genevieve Jacobs about his passion for the past.

"If you're interested in people, if you're interested in gossip, if you're interested in what's going on in other people's lives then by definition you should be interested in history because that's all history is," Oliver said.

"It's just nosiness about how people lived their lives yesterday or 10 years ago or 100 years ago."

In Canberra to speak at the History Teachers' Conference 2013: A Vision Splendid at the National Library of Australia, the presenter of 'A History of Scotland' and 'Coast' told of his fascination for the personal stories within the events of history.

"It's not the dates that appeal to me, it's not even the kings and queens, and the great and the good that appeal to me, I'm much more interested by the people who are just out of sight in the shadows, the ordinary people, the people like you and me, the you and me of 100 years ago or of a thousand years ago. And they're harder to find because their names are largely absent from the story but you can catch glimpses of them."